Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) to reach SDO Field of View on April 4

Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is heading for the Sun. The estimated trajectory in the SDO AIA field of view is shown in the figure provided by Dean Pesnell. 

The team is eagerly anticipating the comet's arrival, and we hope to see it in SDO EUV images.  

Major Flare and CME on March 30, 2026

As NASA prepares for the Artemis II launch, the NASA Moon2Mars Space Weather Analysis Office is monitoring space weather activity to ensure a safe flight for the astronauts.  

To celebrate the upcoming Artemis flight, the Sun unleashed an X1.5 flare at at 02:47UT on March 30, 2026, and there was a beautiful eruption of a coronal mass ejection (CME). Flares and coronal mass ejections are not uncommon, but they can cause some space weather effects, which is why the M2M office monitors activity. The SDO team is closely watching the data products to be sure that the forecasters have what they need.

Go Artemis! 

File Server Restoration Underway

The SDO website file server has been replaced and the data are being restored from backup.  We hope to get all of the processing scripts and associated software installed in the next couple of days. Until then, please continue to check alternate sources for SDO imagery: 

The HelioData website gives a comprehensive list of data resources for SDO, and all of the items not associated with the Goddard SDO site outage are up to date. 

 Science data from all three of the instruments are still available through the science data access points:

- EVE data 

- JSOC HMI and AIA data access 

- Sungate AIA and HMI data

Additionally, there are many browse data resources available for those who want to review recent images:

- Helioviewer.org has up-to-date SDO data and allows users to combine data from other missions

- HMI Browse images in JPEG format

- AIA Synoptic data - resampled data convenient for browsing  

File Server Outage on SDO Website

There has been a temporary outage of the browse data on the SDO Website at NASA Goddard.  Fortunately, the new HelioData website gives a comprehensive list of data resources for SDO, and all of the items not associated with the Goddard SDO site outage are up to date. 

 Science data from all three of the instruments are still available through the science data access points:

- EVE data 

- JSOC HMI and AIA data access 

- Sungate AIA and HMI data

Additionally, there are many browse data resources available for those who want to review recent images:

- Helioviewer.org has up-to-date SDO data and allows users to combine data from other missions

- HMI Browse images in JPEG format

- AIA Synoptic data - resampled data convenient for browsing  

The team has ordered the replacement parts and will prioritize the SDO website data services as soon as the equipment arrives.  We are very sorry for the inconvenience. 

New AI Model based on SDO Data

The new foundation model using SDO data has been released!  The Surya Heliophysics Foundation Model was trained on nine years of SDO data, and will improve predictions of solar activity such as  flares, solar wind, and irradiance.  

Surya was created by the NASA IMPACT (Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team) AI Team, and is an open-source project and is publicly available via the Hugging Face platform. 

NASA press release on Surya

Image: The process for creating Surya. Foundation models enhance the utility of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory datasets and create a base for building new applications.  Source: NASA/ODSI IMPACT AI Team

Eclipse Season #31 begins, featuring the Sun, Earth and Moon

SDO's 31st eclipse season begins at 07:21 UT on July 10, 2025, and will last until August 7.  SDO's orbit is geosynchronous, inclined relative to the Earth's axis so most of time SDO has a 24/7 view of the Sun.  However, there are times when SDO's orbit passes behind the Earth, and during these periods SDO experiences brief interruptions in its observations of the Sun.  On July 25 SDO will pass behind both the moon and the Earth on the same day!  

Because of the Earth's atmosphere, the Earth's edge appears diffuse in SDO images while the lunar edge is quite sharp.  Here are images from the the last SDO eclipse season to compare.  The left image shows a shadow caused by the Sun's light being blocked by the Earth on an SDO 1700 Å UV image.  The right image shows the sharp edge caused by the moon, which has little atmosphere.  

The Flare-ometer is at X-level again

Solar flares are classified using the X-ray brightness (see an explanation here), and "X class" flares are the strongest.  The sunspot and magnetic active region complex that produced many M-class and X-class flares last month is back, and the EVE "flare-ometer" is hitting the red zone again.  

EVE measures irradiance in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV), which are wavelengths slightly less energetic than X-rays. EUV variations in flux have a direct impact on the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere, so EVE's measurements are essential for space weather forecasts.  

EVE has a special flare observation mode that is triggered autonomously onboard SDO.  EVE had 7 flare campaigns triggered in April, 8 in May, and so far there have been 8 in June. When combined with HMI and AIA, SDO is able to capture the magnetic structure and dynamics of space weather processes.